Change your 2 v 1 expectations for young players

The classic 2 v 1 exercise doesn’t work well with young players. Don’t give up on it though. Try out these ideas to work on this crucial decision-making area of the game.

A 2 v 1 exercise has the ball carrier fixing the defender before passing to a support player. However, for young players, this doesn’t work well.

Why? It’s mainly because most players are not strong passers of the ball. They can pass, but not at the right speed and with the required accuracy. Also, support players struggle to time their runs and take the ball at the right pace.

Therefore we have to change our expectations of how we develop our players’ 2 v 1 skills. Here are three ideas.

2 v 1 FRONTS

1. Have the defender on their front just before the “passer”.
2. Feed the ball to the “passer” who has to then pass the ball to their teammate before the defender can get to their feet and touch them.

2 v 1 CORRIDORS

1. Have the defender standing in a narrow corridor.
2. The ball carrier simple runs up to the defender and then passes the ball. That should help with some timing and passing issues, plus give the ball carrier a cue to pass.

2 v 1 GATES

1. Put a gate a third of the way into a box.
2. The ball carrier has to race to the gate while a defender aims to beat them to the gate.
3. Once at the gate, the ball carrier passes the ball, but not before.

TECHNIQUES

• Attack the defender at pace.
• Hold the ball in two hands.
• Turn the shoulders to pass the ball to the receiver.
• Follow the hands through to the target.
• Pass in front of the receiver.
• The receiver calls for the ball and puts their hands out to make a target for the passer.